People v. Ramirez CA4/1

Filed 3/24/26 P. v. Ramirez CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D085563

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. SCN427319) v.

JOSE ACEVEDO RAMIREZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Saba Sheibani, Judge. Affirmed. Annie Fraser, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Robin Urbanski, Assistant Attorney General, A. Natasha Cortina and Alan L. Amann, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. Jose Acevedo Ramirez appeals from his conviction of child abuse arising from an incident in which a firework that Ramirez had provided exploded in the hand of a minor, destroying most of the child’s hand and ultimately requiring its amputation. He contends the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury as to the multiple causes of the victim’s injury.

For the reasons we discuss below, we agree that the trial court erred in its instruction to the jury, but we conclude the error was harmless and accordingly affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On a summer afternoon in 2021, Ramirez drove to a skatepark in Vista and opened his trunk, which contained a number of fireworks. A group of teens gathered. Ramirez lit one firework, which shot off into the air above them. He then brought out a second firework. Some witnesses testified that the second firework appeared to be “broken” because it didn’t have the same stick attached as the first one did. There was conflicting testimony as to whether Ramirez directly handed the second firework to 14-year-old Rafael E., stating something to the effect, “if you want to die, light this firework,” or whether it had been “passed around between a few other people” in the group before it ended up in Rafael’s hands. Rafael testified that he wanted to light it so Rafael took his lighter out of his pocket and put it to the short fuse on the firework. As soon as his lighter sparked near the fuse, the firework exploded in his hand After Rafael was airlifted to a hospital, his right hand was amputated near the wrist. The prosecution charged Ramirez with violations of Penal Code section